I had some concerns about Stafford accuracy but he has long put those to rest. I firmly believe in the golden rule 'that if you don't have a franchise QB, you draft a potential one if given the opportunity'. You don't put it off for any other reason and you keep drafting QB's till you get it right.

He's been greater than my wildest dreams. I was concerned about the hits that he was taking earlier in his career. I thought that although he had a shaky oline, it was mostly due to horrible presnap recognition by Stafford. Stafford has greatly improved in that area and at times has looked unstoppable due to knowing his matchups and executing the throws. I had a few issues with his accuracy in a couple games, but absolutely no complaints. His throws are a thing of beauty.

He led the league in Attempts(how about that for being injury prone?), 2nd in completions, 5th in completion %, 3rd in Yards, 3rd in TDs, 5th in Rating. The 36 sacks are high, but guess what? Aaron Rodgers had 36 sacks as well.

In my mind the QB hierarchy at this moment goes Rodgers, Brees, Brady, Peyton at top in some order. I'd put Stafford and Eli in that next tier battling for 5th place. Stafford won that battle this year.

As he continues to develop, I want to see his sack numbers drop to the 20s and the interceptions late in games to go away. 16 interceptions is still a very respectable number for leading the league in passing attempts. All the skills are there, its just polishing time. Stability on our coaching staff will enable him to challenge Aaron Rodgers and replace Manning/Brady in that top tier after a few more seasons.

It's been a great year for stafford and everyone can breath a little easier when it comes to Stafford. The beauty of a true franchise QB is that he hides the flaws of the offense. One of the worst running games in the NFL and a average OL. Even if the lions gets blown at in the playoffs now you are more attractable to free agents and still have draft picks.

Lions lead the league in passing yards and Stafford his best completion percentage of his career right now. Redzone not the same this year though with 4 passing and 1 rushing TD to 4 ints(but zero the last 2 games after 3 ints then 1). Drops and pressure in the redzone are more to blame IMO though and for the losses special teams(Min/Ten) and poor defense(San Fran/Titans 2 big plays).

27 against the Rams, 27 before injury against the Titans, 19 is tough against the 49ers, Lions scored 19 last year against San Fran and then Minnesota drops and redzone pressure on a 300 yard day.

Matthew Stafford is about to sign a three-year extension reportedly worth $53 million, including $41.5 million guaranteed. The deal reportedly includes a $27.5 million signing bonus, and will net Stafford $76.5 million between now and 2017. The extension should be officially announced within the next 48 hours.

Stafford did have a similar year to Eli 2007. It was 2012 20 TDs(plus 4 rushing) and 17 ints and the Lions went 4-12.

Eli's 2011 was better. 29 TDs though, which Stafford matched this season. 31 turnovers from the Giants D though, Detroit only had 22 in 2013. And a very nice 9 TD and 1 int playoff run for Eli. I think Stafford could go on a run like that in the playoffs. Had a very nice game in his lone playoff game but the Saints offense in the Super Dome was just too much for the Lions injury riddled secondary.

What is more important is that Stafford hasn't improved one iota the last 2 years which is why we are switching HC's, in hopes that there is still another level he can reach. Only time will tell if he has that higher level in him or what you have seen is what you will continue to get. Of course, we are all hoping for the former.

What is more important is that Stafford hasn't improved one iota the last 2 years which is why we are switching HC's, in hopes that there is still another level he can reach. Only time will tell if he has that higher level in him or what you have seen is what you will continue to get. Of course, we are all hoping for the former.

Agreed, he is the same QB he was 3 years ago and that's an issue. We gave him a running game and a safety read with Bush and that didn't elevate his game any further. His mental lapses haven't changed and nothing has improved in a considerable amount of time.

It shoudl also be pointed out that his INT% over those 14,500 yards,90 TDs and over 2000 attempts was 2.6. That is equal to Brees and Manning's career rates, which were both greatly lowered in their later years.

Another big factor IMO is that even when QBs get by with lesser WRs(which is very rare unless you are Brady), they are with these guys in the offseason, in camp and in practice every day. The last 2 years Stafford lost his 2nd and 3rd WRs pretty quickly into the season and in 2012 his 4th as well. You can't just plug guys, especially street bums, into your offense and expect things to go smoothly. Not to mention losing Best in 2012 as well.

Agreed, he is the same QB he was 3 years ago and that's an issue. We gave him a running game and a safety read with Bush and that didn't elevate his game any further. His mental lapses haven't changed and nothing has improved in a considerable amount of time.

Cross our fingers.

We also gave him the league's worst TEs and WRs(beyond Calvin obviously) and that safety read missed 2 games, dropped 10 balls and fumbled 5 more. We also never found a way to get Bush and Bell on the field together, so we always had 3 weak spots out of 5. Plus Calvin was so ineffective down the stretch, for his standards.

It's my opinion that true great QB's can get by with weaker WR's and still make them look good. So Stafford still has something to prove. It is also my opinion that the Lions quit playing hard for Schwartz which could have impacted Stafford's performances.

I think we all believe that this season could be special and are hoping that Stafford really benefits from the coaching changes, I don't know how tough our schedule will be but I'll be hugely disappointed if we don't make a strong SB run. Enough with the excuses, produce or we'll be looking at a rebuild, it's now or never IMO.